Nigeria DMO hopeful on $500 mln debut global bond

By Oludare Mayowa

LAGOS (Reuters) - The head of Nigeria's debt management office said on Friday he was hopeful of gaining parliamentary approval for its $500 million debut global bond now that conditions in the world economy had improved.

Parliamentary approval for the planned naira-denominated bond is one of the last major hurdles for launching the offer, which the government hopes will establish a sovereign benchmark in the international capital market.

"The $500 million 10-year bond was suspended because of the global economic meltdown. Now things are resetting and we are restructuring ... We are optimistic that the bond will be approved by parliament," Abraham Nwankwo, head of the Debt Management Office (DMO), told reporters.

Nwankwo said the DMO would need to raise 867.5 billion naira to help plug this year's government spending shortfalls.

Parliament is currently considering a 4.08 trillion naira 2010 budget proposal, an increase of around a third on planned spending for last year which if approved would push Nigeria's budget deficit to 4.79 percent of GDP.

Nwankwo said Nigeria's external debt stood at $3.95 billion at the end of last year, while domestic debt in sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest economy stood at 21.8 trillion naira.